In astonishingly simple terms, there are three chief techniques employed. You need to be agile enough to hop between techniques almost instantly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves assembling a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you are able to manage, to barricade in your opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable strategy at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anyplace inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match continues.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your challenger tosses an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your opponent is then in serious trouble due to the fact that they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or higher anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a position occupied by at least 2 of your pieces.) It needs to be employed when you are extremely behind as this plan greatly improves your circumstances. The best areas for anchors are towards your opponent’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with a single point in between. Timing is critical for an effective backgame: after all, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break apart this straight away, while your challenger is getting their checkers home, taking into account that you do not have any other additional checkers to move! In this situation, it is better to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up till your challenger provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to attempt and get your competitor to get them in this situation!